Eikev

My kids were begging us to take them to America, where the streets are paved with cheese. So, we did. We took them on a three day vacation to the closest American city: Ramat Beit Shemesh. Through a friend of ours, we were able to get an apartment for free in the Israeli section, but spent much time in the “Anglo” section, shopping for things we need and food. And BOY is there a selection! Here, if you want chicken with a good hecsher, you need to speak to the guy who orders it for the community and see if he has any. There, it’s all in abundance! Take what you want for a great price! And Hebrew? I barely heard Hebrew! It was a real strange feeling.

Thankfully, we all enjoyed ourselves, and are back home praying that the kids should not kill each other before school starts . . .

Okay, on to Torah!

“And now Israel, what does the Lord, your G-d, ask from you . . ." (Devarim 10:12).

The Chofetz Chaim taught that a person should always view himself as somebody hired out for a certain period of time to do work. Such a person, after completing one task and knowing that he is still “on the clock” will then go and ask his employer what he should do next. So too with us. We have been “hired out” for a 120 years. When we complete one mitzvah, it should be natural for us to ask, “Okay, what’s next?”

This can be inferred from the pasuk above, “And NOW Israel, what does the Lord, your G-d, ask from you . . .”

Our lives should not be viewed as “on the clock/off the clock” whenever we feel. Rather, we should try to see what we can do next and fill our time properly.

I’m officially on break for a little bit, which means: family time!!! (Which really means that I have to do all sorts of things that my wife has been saving up for me since Pesach)

Being that for the past several days, we’ve been experiencing a heat wave (average in the high 90s and low 100s), and we don’t have any air conditioners (oh yeah, it did go down to the mid 80s at night…), we needed to take Rochel Leah out to some place a little cool. So we took a bus ride in to go to “Rav Shefa Mall”, which is a two story frum mall, and Shanky’s Book Store. Both air conditioned.

At the mall, my wife and 20 month old daughter went on the escalator several times. Rochel Leah was so excited after coming down that she had a big smile on her face and jumped several times in glee to show all passer-byers how great the escalator is.

Then we went to Shanky’s, who realizing his clientele, had different toys spread out throughout the store. Rochel Leah saw a toy baby carriage, gave a shriek, ran to it, threw her stuffed monkey in, and was happy as ever. Things only got better when they put some music on, which she clapped and danced to (for those who know my mother, she’s a replica).

Then yesterday, our activity consisted of Rochel Leah and me riding the bus for 90 minutes.

What’s the point of all this, you ask? Simple: Learn this from little children; enjoy every little pleasure you have in life, and don’t focus on the things you don’t have.

Okay, on to Torah!“You (singular) must safeguard and keep the entire mitzvah that I am prescribing to you today. Then you (plural) will survive, flourish, and come to occupy the land that G-d swore to your fathers” (Devarim 8:1)

I saw a very nice Kli Yakar on this recently, I thought to share over.

He asks a question, which I never would have noticed. At the beginning of our pasuk, the Torah is speaking to the individual, “You (singular) must safeguard…”, then at the end, the pasuk is in plural, “Then you (plural) will survive”

The Kli Yakar writes that this is to teach us the power of just one individual; being that one individual can sustain the entire world, and even when this individual does one simple mitzvah, he is praised. For when this individual “safeguards and keeps the entire mitzvah”, then “you (the nation), will survive…”

The Kli Yakar also notes why the pasuk says, “… and keep the entire mitzvah (singular)”. There are certainly far more many mitzvos in the Torah then just one! He understands the part of the pasuk to mean that the successful accomplishment of just one mitzvah can also lead to “you (the nation), will survive…” When a person does one mitzvah, he will be given opportunities to do others, and from there a person will continue to grow.

Interestingly this reminded me of an incident several years ago, when I was discussing “Shniyim Mikrah”with a rav in Chicago. The Shulchan Oruch brings down that a person should read each week’s parsha twice, which either Rashi, Onkolus, or even a good translation once. I told him that between work, my other learning obligations, and my non-existent children that I use for a good excuse not to do anything; I simply had no time. He told me (if I remember correctly), that the Chofetz Chaim promised that anybody who does “Shniyim Mikrah”, will see that he has more time to learn. I figured, ‘why not?’, and gave it a try. Needless to say, my learning time did continue to increase… and now I’m learning full time! You never know…

Either way, we see through the Kli Yakar, the power that an individual has and the power an individual mitzvah has.

Interesting…

I just remembered that there is a Gemara in Brachos (I’m on a roll today), that says that when a person does not make a blessing before eating food, he is stealing from Hashem and from the nation. Okay, from Hashem we can understand, but what affect does it have on the rest of the nation? Rashi answers that a person who doesn’t make a blessing causes the crops to whither.

Okay, now we certainly see, between the Kli Yakar, “Shniyim Mikrah”, and the Gemara/Rashi in Brachos, the power of the individual and the power of individual mitzvos. We all have the power to affect the rest of the nation for the positive or the negative. May we all merit seeing only positive affects!

I’m a tad upset that I don’t have time to write a full length dvar torah, because this is one of my favourite parshas. However, I ask everybody to read this very short dvar torah, since it’s rather important and pertinent to the current situation here.

“He is the great, mighty and awesome G-d, who does not give special consideration or take bribes. He brings justice to the orphan and widow, and loves the convert, granting him food and clothing” (Devarim 10:18)

One of the main missions a Jew has in this world is to emulate Hashem. If he is kind to those in need, such as ophans, widows, and converts; so too, should we be kind to those in need.

Currently, half of the northern population has been forced to flee from their homes and communities. The economies, especially their jobs, have taken a hit. Homes and business have been destroyed, and hundreds have been wounded. Those who are staying are living their lives in bomb shelters.

As I mentioned in last week’s dvar torah, many people around the ‘safer’ zones in Israel have opened their homes to complete strangers until it is safe for them to return.

Yeshiva Ohr Dovid, which I attended for a year, and who holds a good deal of responsibility for me being where I am, has opened their campus to over 120 people who have no safe homes to live in.

Those who know Ohr Dovid, know that the yeshiva’s financial situation has never been the best, yet the staff continues to give of themselves to their students despite the difficulties.

So far, they have received ‘emergency’ funds to help support these families, but that has quickly been used due to the extent of the war.

I have placed a letter from the yeshiva on my site along with a PayPal Donate button. For those who wish to contribute and help Israelis affected by the war (via PayPal or Credit Card), this is more than a worthy organization to do so. The donations you give, will go to Frum.org’s account, and then on to Ohr Dovid’s Emergency Relief fund. ALL funds you give will go directly to those in need. Frum.org nor Ohr Dovid will be taking any of that money for any use. PayPal naturally takes a very small token of any donation, but after that, EVERYTHING will go to those in need.

Ohr Dovid is a very trustworthy yeshiva, whom I can personally vouch for, that has unconditionally opened its doors to those in need. One of the greatest ways to help those directly affected by the war, is to help give to such organizations.

There are a few questions that Hashem is going to ask everybody after 120 years. It will be determined, based on these answers, whether they go up or down. These questions are: Did you set time to learn Torah? Did you set aside tzeddakah money? Did you shoot Beshansky in the face in Paintball? I’m finally able to honestly say ‘yes’ to one of those questions.

Vacation right now is enjoyable as ever. We’ve hiked, biked, kayaked, visited the beach, got stung by Jellyfish, saw a surfaced Israeli submarine leave to open waters, visited museums, visited the milk factory, did paintball, slept, and even did a little learning now and then. I can assure you that there will be some excellent desktop photos posted on my site starting next weekend. So stay tuned… okay, on to Torah!

This week’s parsha contains the second of three paragraphs of the ‘Shema’, which we read at least twice a day. The first paragraph, which begins with the famous words, “Shema Yisroel” and “V’Ahavta Es Hashem…”, deals with accepting the yoke of G-d’s Kingship upon oneself. The second deals with accepting the yoke of mitzvos, by learning and performing them. When we accept these mitzvos upon ourselves then Hashem will do ‘his part of the deal’, and give us the physical and spiritual supplies necessary for our survival.

“And it will come to pass that if you continually listen to My commandments that I command you today”

Rav Schwab writes several interesting thoughts on the Shema, I thought it would be appropriate to share them.

The pasuk says that we should ‘listen’ to the commandments. Listening to something means that there is something to be said, that these commandments are passing on a message. Here in this pasuk we see such a message: “…if you continually listen to MY commandments”. These commandments were given to us by Hashem, not by mankind. These are HIS commandments. In the end, a Jew does not eat kosher because “it’s healthier”, or put on tefillin or tzitzis as some “symbolic gesture”; it’s simply because Hashem told us too. Of course, in some cases we can see some logical reason for having certain mitzvos, such as not stealing or murdering, but the true essence of a mitzvah goes to the fact that Hashem has given us the commandment, and that’s that. Rav Schwab compares this to the laws of gravity. We all know gravity exists, but even today, while scientists are able to explain its effects, they are baffled on its existence and what its essence is. We know gravity works, simply by the fact it does!

I remember having a discussion with a ‘frum’ Protestant friend of mine in high school. She told me that for hundreds of years, the European peasants were kept in the dark about many things; many were never taught to read or write, for example. Today, we call that era, The Dark Ages. The reason, she said, that they were never taught, was so that the corrupt elements of the Church would be able to properly control the population. So when the Pope decided to free Jerusalem from the Muslims, he would say, “Oh, by the way, please feel free to kill Jews on the way”. And when the populace would ask why, he could state, “It says in the Bible, that’s why!”, and since they could not confirm or deny such a fact, they said, “Okay, sure why not!”.

Judaism is not such a religion. Since we began, Jews have always put a strong emphasis on education, whether religious or secular. The State of Israel has the highest reading/writing rate in the entire Middle East. We are also known as a ‘stiff-necked’ people. Why? Because we are taught to always question and find answers, and not accept things for what they seem to be.

Learning about mitzvos consists of two parts, says Rav Schwab: One, learning that an act is a mitzvah to do or not to do. Two, attempt to understand all the details and reasons behind the mitzvah. This may seem to be contradictory to the above statements, but in reality it is not.

Every mitzvah has lessons and reasons behind it. The lessons are for us to learn and find. Perhaps, even the reasons are too, but the ultimate reason for performing a mitzvah IS because Hashem told us to. Nonetheless, we are commanded to ‘continually listen’ to the mitzvos, and to continually hear out the message of the mitzvos.

Many people honestly ask, why do we do this, why do we do that? I know some people who got smacked by the Nuns for asking those questions in Catholic school. Not so in Judaism. It is encouraged to ask such questions. It is equally encouraged, however, to go out and find the answers to those questions. After all, it seems rather foolish to constantly ask questions, without putting in any effort to find answers.

Thankfully we live in a day and age, where finding such information is easy. Thanks to publishers such as Feldheim, Artscroll, and the like, we have libraries of books on all levels and in all languages to learn from. There are plenty of yeshivos in Israel and around the world, such as Ohr Somayach, Aish HaTorah, Project SEED, etc, to go and learn from. People have the ability to go on 1 to 12 month programs to Israel to learn Torah, each at his or her level. You have internet sites galore with dvrei torah or Ask The Rabbi. The possibilities are endless! We are all obligated to ‘continually listen’ to the mitzvos, to continually ask and learn about them; and thankfully we have more tools at our disposal then we ever had before. Have a great Shabbos!

*The word for 'forget' here in the Torah has been written with two Hebrew words next to each other (shachoach / shachoach). So if you translated it literally it would be, "It shall be that if you forget forget Hashem, your G-d"

The Midrash relates that when the Torah uses the term v'haya (it shall be), it implies joy. This is a very deep and kabalistic, and I'm sure if I explained it to you, you would have spasms or other bad things, simply because you are nowhere close to being on the level of such deep insight. :) (Was that a run on sentence?). Either way, we have a tradition that certain words hint to certain things, and the word v'haya, implies joy. So...the question is, how could forgetting Hashem bring joy?

Imrei Chaim does a little play on words to learn out an important lesson. The word shachoach (forget) can be read in more than one way. For example, it can be read as shchiach (to be found) or tishkach (you will find). Hence the pasuk can be read in a different light (Remember there are two words for 'forget' in the pasuk):

The Imrei Chaim is telling us, that in order to properly find Hashem, one must have joy in his heart. That obviously does not mean that one walks around like a giant Barney doll hugging everything in sight. (Yuk, yuk, come on kids...let's hug!) Rather it means that we should continue to have a positive outlook on things when life seems to take a wrong turn. When something seems to have gone wrong, we should try our best to put our trust in Hashem. By doing so, you are putting your burdens on His shoulders, so to speak. And who better to put them on, if not His? By trusting in Hashem, you have no need to worry about the future. And this will help you have joy in your heart; and through this joy can you properly server and become closer to G-d. Have a great Shabbos!

Got myself a new gift this week. A friend of mine was nice enough to give me his old web cam. Needless to say, the first thing I did was hook it up at work and think of ways this can help me take over the world. With this new device, I can broadcast live from my computer just like a television, via my website. I'm thinking of wrapping a towel around my head and doing what they do on Saudi television. Give a sermon on killing infidels and tell you why you're all burning in heck. No, I'm not going to leave it on all day, so you can see me at work, scratching my nose and staring at my computer screen.

Oh, one quick tidbit I learned last night. Fantastik works far better than Lysol Kitchen Cleaner. Okay, on to Torah!

Yes, that was sarcastic if you didn't pick up on that. Through fear of G-d, we are able to overcome the "dark side." Quite simple to imagine. You have a choice, a) do the right thing b) do the wrong thing. Anybody with the fear of G-d, will certainly choose a. So I'm not going to waste your time telling you the importance of fearing G-d, since we just proved it. Nor am I going to tell you how to reach a true fear in G-d, since it's my little secret (Hint: it has something to do with following the Torah).

The Chofetz Chaim made note of the word "now". Obviously there's a reason for it or it wouldn't be there. He writes that a person should go through life constantly asking himself, "What does Hashem want from me, NOW?" By constantly asking yourself this question, you are not only practicing Judaism, but you are also LIVING it (see last week's dvar torah)! When our entire day is filled with "What does He want from me now, at this moment," we can rest assured that we are leading a Torah life.

Rav Chizkiyahu Cohen comments on the words "from you." According to Rav Cohen, it seems the pasuk is emphasizing the individual's responsibility to G-d. He relates a story of Rav Salanter who once met up with a person and asked him, "What do you do?" The man told Rav Salanter of all the businesses he's currently involved in and his positions in each one of them. Again, Rav Salanter asked, "What do you do?” This time, the man went into a little more detail, describing each of his jobs and exactly what he does. Rav Salanter asked again, several times in fact, resulting in the same answers. Rav Salanter finally said, "I am questioning what you do, and you are telling me what Hashem does. You do not make the money; you do not create the success of the business endeavor. Hashem does all that. I asked what you do, and you respond with information about what Hashem does."

Similarly, we all believe that this world is a world of cause and effect. That is true, but we have the variables mixed up. We might believe that the harder we work, the more financially secure we are going to be. Well, I hate to remind you, but look around. You'll see quite a few hard-working, once-successful folks out there collecting unemployment. The real formula is expressed later on in this parsha and is said several times a day in the Shema: "Follow the ways of the Torah (i.e. fear G-d), and Hashem will give you what you need." (Note: NOT what you want; sometimes what you want could be quite dangerous for you, like when I wanted an UZI for my 15th birthday...)

We must try to understand this important concept. We try too hard sometimes to do G-d's work for Him. Sure, we need to go out and make a living, but how many times do we go overboard on that and bypass learning time or chesed time? We cannot use making a living as our excuse for rushing through davening, not having a learning schedule everyday, not doing chesed, etc... We should work when we need to, but not put in more time than necessary. Why? Because it's not going to help you! Your part of the deal is to fear G-d and follow the Torah; Hashem's part of the deal is to supply us with our needs. By going home after work, spending time with your family, going to learn or fulfill other mitzvos, by davening at a normal pace with at least some concentration: these are the real causes. Hashem giving you the sustenance that you need: that is the real effect. Have a great Shabbos!

About the Author

Michael Winner

Avreich - Web Developer - Father - Tired

Michael Winner is a full-time member of a kollel in northern Israel, works at night as a web-developer, is a father of five, and can often be found on the floor where he must have passed out.